Alright, I'm just going to ask it. We've seen Kirk with his shirt off dozens of times, and he never has any body hair. Fair enough, it makes him seem sleek and well-groomed. But why didn't they make Nimoy shave his chest too during the rare glimpses we get? It even seems antagonistic to the character - given that Vulcan is an extremely hot planet compared to human standards, yet Spock is comfortable at room temperature, why does his species even need body hair? And if it comes from his human half, wouldn't he shave it out of embarrassment?

We've seen Kirk with his shirt off dozens of times, and he never has any body hair. Fair enough, it makes him seem sleek and well-groomed.

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I think the notion that a shaved or waxed male chest constitutes part of being a well-groomed male is a fairly recent one stemming from the trend during the last 15 or so years of metrosexuality. If anything, Kirk might have seemed more manly during the 60s had he actually had a hairy chest.

As to why Nimoy didn't have his chest waxed, perhaps he didn't feel the need to apologize for looking like a man. In-universe, one might argue that Vulcans (like their Romulan cousins) are very virile and passionate; they just keep it under wraps. A hairy-chested Vulcan then would not seem out of place if one were to associate a male hairy chest with virility, potency, and strong masculine drives (i.e. as in Pon Faar).

One can argue that much of the body hair on humans now is evolutionarily neutral, especially since its nowhere near consistent on the species as a whole. It's one of those things that doesn't matter too much so it hasn't been selected for or against, per se.

Interesting thoughts, all! Taste preferences aside, I just think it's unfair that Shatner or some poor intern on set had to shave/wax Shatner's chest and stomach for what seems like every other episode, but Nimoy got a free pass the one time he had to be shirtless. C'mon, suffer for your art a little!

Eh, I heard somewhere that the first few times Shatner shaved, he complained because it itched so badly. And to get that perfectly smooth sheen, it had to have been a pretty intensive process.

It's a good point about Spock being rarely shirtless, though. While the makeup issue is probably correct, I think his constantly being clothed also adds to two important traits: his alien-ness/mystique of the unknown, and his discomfort in being himself. By keeping his body literally under wraps, he distances himself from others and shows that he is not at peace in his own skin. It fits perfectly.

Not me. I like the smooth chest look. But you are what you are, waxing your chest seems pretty ick.

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Smooth chest is pretty attractive. I'm biased; my boyfriend is Chinese, so he's naturally (nearly) hairless, but even if he had a full chest carpet, I would never ask him to get rid of it - too painful and too much work. Waxing opens you up to a lot of infections, too.